I am still adjusting to seeing the year 2020 on my calendar. I remember as a child imagining a date in the future and 2020 seemed impossibly distant… and, yet, here we are. This new year brings many challenges; the world seems to be in chaos, the news is full of threats to our peace from political crises or climate disasters that are causing severe dislocation to people’s lives.
What can our response be in the face of so much distress?
There are some who would have us all bury our heads in the sand and continue business as usual. Is that really possible given the scale of the fires in Australia or floods, drought and earthquakes in other parts of the world and even closer to home? Perhaps the fact that these events are happening everywhere - that we are all touched - helps us wake up in the recognition that we truly are all connected. We can only face a problem that affects the whole planet with a global response.
Some of you might be thinking, “what can I do? I am only one person, this is bigger than anything I can do.” This statement is only true if you consider yourself separate, as a single individual. Our sickness is that we have become disconnected as we fragmented into disjointed individuals, separate from each other and from the Earth that sustains us. How often have you heard people argue, “well, it’s not my fault; blame the government, the corporations for the state we’re in.”
Difficult as it might seem, we actually lose our humanity, our souls, when we insist nothing is our responsibility, that it’s somebody else’s fault. The blame game is fertile ground for those who wish to manipulate people – finding someone or something to blame means not taking responsible action. The truth is we all participate and play a part in how we shape the world we live in. It happens with every choice we make, every action we take.
We could say: each of us is like a single drop of water in a vast ocean. As a single drop I may feel insignificant; I am however not lost. Is not the ocean made up of many drops of water? The ocean would be less without the drop of water that is me... or you. The vast ocean supports us all, each individual drop as a part of an integral 'whole'. A single drop of water has little weight but an ocean has immense power. When we act together there is great momentum; when we are connected, we come into flow.
We certainly need to work more closely together and in greater harmony with each other and this planet. This is a time to acknowledge what is true. To do this we need each other, for how do I discover myself without a mirror from you?
Surely life is much too precious to simply give up. There is a message of hope.
While chaos may not be comfortable, it is a symptom of change.
We have the chance to evolve!
Is this not possible?
Consider: even while we experience this apparent chaos, we can also have a deep sense of being cared for. Take a moment to bring your awareness to the fact that in every moment energy flows through you and that you have to do absolutely nothing for this continual nourishment. Life is given freely, without condition, in every heartbeat. When I connect with the awareness of being so fundamentally supported, I find a deep gratefulness arise in me.
Knowing that life is essentially cherishing each and every being, does not mean letting things happen no matter what. We have been given gifts; so how do we use them? It seems to me our natural impulse is to connect: with each other, with our environment.
I keep seeing examples of people’s essential humanity on display. Simple acts of kindness, people reaching out to help each other, young people voicing their concerns for the future and what kind of world they will inherit. I find myself taking extra care in small things, like taking a moment to listen to the beggar on the street and not simply walking by, or smiling at someone on the bus who catches my eye, or talking to the person at the supermarket checkout.
As we face this year, let us be hopeful. Hope arises out of gratitude and in the knowledge that we do not live in a random universe. It may be chaotic and one we have no control over, yet it is a universe with a fundamental vibration of love that is live giving and life affirming.
May you feel cherished and may life’s awesome power give you the impetus to overcome all adversity. This is the nature of ‘hope’. I wish you - all of us - hope.
I wish you peace and well-being for this year and for all the many years to come.